Meanwhile, up the road in a small, west Valley strip mall, medical-marijuana patients toked up openly in a "lounge" that has the look, feel, and scent of a Dutch coffeeshop.

It's similar to a drinking establishment, but rented glass bongs rest on the bar instead of mugs of beer. Patrons can buy snacks and sodas, not alcoholic beverages. Colored, dimmed lights hang help provide a mellow atmosphere, A high-def TV plays music from YouTube; and video games are available upon request.

The entrepreneur behind the Arizona Vapor Lounge, BIll Hayes, says his business is a budding franchise: He expects 14 similar lounges across the state to open in the next two months.

Hayes has done some advertising for his business, including launching a Facebook site, and he encourages us to publish the lounge's address -- 4230 West Dunlap Avenue -- even though the last time we wrote about one his ventures, the Arizona Cannabis Society, the place was raided by police a few weeks later. No charges ever came of that raid, and the businessman/anti-prohibition activist is once again pushing the envelope.

Although the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act prohibits smoking marijuana in a "public place," the phrase "public place" is somewhat flexible. Medical-pot rules developed by the Arizona Department of Public Health define "public place" as "any location, facility, or venue that is not intended for the regular exclusive use of an individual or a specific group of individuals."

The Vapor Lounge is intended for the exclusive use of a group of individuals, meaning the people inside can smoke pot legally, Hayes says. The clientele must pay five dollars to sign up for a membership, though Hayes says the place isn't a "club," but a "social lounge."

For two bucks, patients can rent a high-tech bong -- in fact, a shelf full of expensive waterpipes is sponsored by BENT Glass, a bong-making company, Hayes says.

Hayes credits Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery for giving him the idea for the lounge's business model.

The voter-approved pot law prohibits marijuana from being sold anywhere except in state-licensed dispensaries, and it's forbidden to transfer medical marijuana for anything of value. Yet numerous cannabis clubs sprang up around the state after prohibitionist Governor Jan Brewer delayed the dispensary portion of the law. A judge eventually ordered her to allow the stores to open. Since then, a few state-authorized dispensaries have opened in Arizona, including one in the Phoenix metro area.

Montgomery has previously blasted the practices of cannabis clubs, noting that the high fees charged for club membership in return for "free" marijuana seemed to be nothing more than a cover for retail sales.

So, Hayes says, he decided to open a "lounge" that charged a small fee, but still allowed patients to share and obtain marijuana.

The lounge has three rules, according to Hayes: No selling. No mooching. No drama.

If someone brings his or her own medicine to the lounge, the law allows the free exchange of marijuana with other patients. That could be helpful for a patient who wants to sample the effects of various strains of marijuana. A patient and "supporting member" can also bring a guest to the lounge, Hayes says.

Patients who need medicine can obtain it -- for "free" -- at the lounge by utilizing Hayes' raffle system. He explains that patients purchase raffle tickets, and in return are given "free" gifts including medical cannabis. The prizes given away in the raffle each week are substantial, including items such as pricey, high-quality bongs, Hayes says. The "upgraded membership" at the lounge offers educational classes, massage therapy and other alternative-medicine services contracted with other firms.

"I want people to come in and to be social," Hayes says. "To meet and network with other, like-minded individuals."

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Just a few things about the article, my business and my reasons for doing what I do.I didn't agree to do this article as an "in your face" to Tom H or Bill M, not at all. Tom H filed a complaint against the compassion clubs, one of which I had previously been affiliated with, ACC. In that complaint were very specific sections that outlined how he felt these businesses were operating outside the guidelines of the AMMA. He had also made public statements to the media regarding the operating policies of the 2811 club. "If they allowed the patients and caregivers to bring their own medicine, share it with each other and if they charged a regular door fee or cover charge like every other bar or similar type business did, then I would support it."

So we simply took what he said, looked at what was written in his complaints against the compassion clubs and reverse engineered the business around the defense of the business in a court of law.It wasn't an "in your face" but more of a "thank you". The more court cases that are filed and settled, the more clear the boundaries become for our very new MMJ state. Just like Ray said in the article, he couldn't tell you one way or the other if the business model was legal, it's hard to tell with some of the compassion clubs and Farmer's Market's out there today. A close look at the law quickly reveals lots and lots of "gray area" that will simply have to defined in courts. Until that happens individuals like myself will continue to look at other states for case precedence, we will listen intently when our elected legal guru's such as Tom Horne speak to the media about anything relating to the mmj industry, and we will apply it ;)

The subject of my felony charges seems to pop up when the other party has nothing else factual to say, funny how that works. So once again, yes I have more than one felony charge, "felonies" if you will and all of them are for marijuana possession or cultivation. No violent crimes, no white collar crimes plea bargained down to misdemeanors, nothing other than some simple harmless marijuana "crimes" and I use the word "crimes" loosely. I have learned a thing or two about the law since my 1st and only visit to ADC and the businesses I operate now do in fact quite often push the boundaries of ARS 28.1. simply because those lines have been continuously blurred by the powers that be via a few failed court cases and an open disdain for the industry itself. The only reason I have any of those felony charges is because I didn't know enough at the time to fight them and relied on a public defender. Well, several public defenders. That won't happen again. Pro Se allllll day!!

Now back to a few of the other things not mentioned in the article. Let me just go ahead and say it for the record, we do not sell marijuana or marijuana related products. the law is very black and white as to who can do what, definitions have been created and are being enforced by local PD's and prosecuted by the AG and his team so you better pay attention to this part people. DO NOT SELL POT if you are not a dispensary, you CAN go to jail. However, much like most major industries there are avenues within the guidelines that you can use to create a successful business.

That being said, the people in law enforcement should also start taking a step back before running up on businesses that are in fact legally operating businesses well within the guidelines of the AMMA and ARS 28.1. One such example is the raid that Ray Stern mentioned in this article at AZCS. No charges were ever filed against me. People came up with a variety of "reasons" why but let me go ahead and clear the air on that as well. I'm still waiting to sit down with whoever is in charge of the case now, assumingly Tom Horne's office and discuss just what the problem with a legally structured collective or co-op is ??

AZCS was by far the most legal option for any patient that couldn't or simply didn't want to grow at their own location. There was never a commercial sale of anything marijuana or marijuana related. AZCS also, to date, has donated more back to the communities of Arizona than every compassion club, collective, co-op, group, affiliation or partnership of any kind COMBINED! The only group that even came close was in fact AZDHS themselves during a canned food drive contest. So to say that we were not acting within the spirit or guidelines of the AMMA is far fetched at best, in my legal opinion.

As far as the lounge locations go, we have locations that are working directly with dispensaries in their area to supply services and products that the dispensary themselves may not be able to or want to for that matter. We are working with dispensaries, not against them.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to stop by the lounge, just make sure you bring your medical card.

You know this won't end well. It won't be long before Sheriff Joe and Co. bust down this guy's door, smash everything inside, scoop it up and place it in "evidence bags" and then drop the charges. I hope Bill does well.

Unfortunately, the "Reefer Madness" that Montypoodle spews, does get absorbed by people. A friend told me that she was concerned her 19 yo college daughter said she was thinking about trying pot. The Mom was FREAKED!

My first question was "She 19 and in college? Why did she think you needed to know?" (well, 2 questions..)

Then I floored her, when I said "10 to 1, you see people that have smoked atlease a little almost every time you leave the house. And Obama and Clinton both admit smoking pot, and GW Bush admits he was into Coke."

Right on, Bill. Sure hope your venture is successful. You're one of us, the people who have paid the dues over cannabis. You deserve success and vindication. You deserve an apology, too, but I wouldn't wait on that.

It's because of Horne(y) and Montgomery that the clubs came into being in the first place. It took almost two years before these two crusaders had their pee-pee's whacked enough to allow the first, and still only, dispensary to open in Phoenix. If it hadn't been for the clubs, people unable to cultivate would have had to go on taking the ineffective poison the medical profession pushes instead of an EFFECTIVE natural substance.

If they're setting fire to plants in there, it's not a vapor lounge, it's a smoking lounge.

A minor distinction, you may say, but vaping is a common term for using an electronic cigarette in lieu of smoking tobacco - a new-ish technology that's saving lives left and right and is fighting for its life against the FDA, Big Tobacco, and Big Pharma right now. Nothing against the MMJ users, but vaping has a hard fight already without having this stigma tossed on top of it.

At the very least, provide MMJ vaporizers instead of bongs so you'll be factually accurate in naming the place... but a name change would benefit many.

@phoenixmedicalmariju get over the "felony" thing already geez no one cares! My felonies are for cultivation, nothing else. So if you want to slam me for growing cannabis and helping patients prior to prop 203 passing go ahead. Yeah I did it. Yeah I broke the law. Yeah I have felonies. Yeah I can still work in the industry. Yeah you hate it. Last but not least, yeah, u don't matter to me anyway. And your jamie comment was pretty laughable as well. Jamie dissolved his partnership with nick and I. Well u don't get to leave a partnership and take the name of the biz and logo with you. We tolerate that guy using our name but comments like yours are going to bring that to an end quickly. Jamie can bad mouth me to anyone who listens, I could care less. He's vapor, like you buddy. Your false statements above clearly show everyone you have no clue what your talking about. No patient has EVER lost their card due to accquisition of marijuana, not one! My raid video is public, patients were present. We had police come in the current spot on dunlap to legally trespass jamie j from the property as a matter of fact (and public record) patients blazing up in the lounge. Police simply did their job and left. See, when you do things right, when you take your time and do your homework... you succeed. "You can hate me now, cause I won't stop now."@phoenixmedicalmariju @phoenixmedicalmariju

@John Morgan we sell lots of retail and niche items. I can give you a list of reasons to come in longer than your bong, and none of them involve med use. What I'm saying is they need a reason to pull you over, and simply being at the lounge isn't a viable one. This has already been discussed with the guys on our beat from the phoenix pd.

We also allow "supporting members" which can be NON cardholders to come with a regular member for the purposes of the designated driver. ;)

@shadeaux14 Not so: caregivers and patients have been networking the past couple of years. We already have good methods of producing and distributing cannabis even if they shut down the dispensaries. Also, notice there is only one dispensary open here in Maricopa County? That's just enough to eventually put a halt to legal growing by patients and caregivers in the area, but not enough to provide for all of the patients who need the product. That's a nicely symbiotic relationship between the authorities and that one, lonely dispensary.

@davelog we have extreme Q's, volcano's, pen vapes, eclipse vaporizers, and phantom's galore, same rental price as any piece of glass. For new patients in AZ we offer a unique service, they can try before they buy. A new bong from Bent Glass can easily hit the $200 mark quickly, add an oil burning or wax burning setup and now your talking $400 plus for a niece setup. But what happens when you get home and decide it may not be the best piece for you?? At the lounge you can try ANY piece made by Bent Glass and several other local glass blowers before you go next door to PB and buy it ;)

Also, we allow, well we encourage trading amongst members at any of our facilities. A great service to the patients in AZ when they are limited by so few operational dispensaries.

@david_saint01 Actually the idea was first mentioned by Bill M. when speaking of Al Sobol's place, the 2811 club. Bill M. said if there was a place that charged no cover or a more reasonable cover charge similar to that of other similar type businesses (ie. bar, cigar bar, etc) and the facility allowed members to give each other marijuana for free, without exchanging anything of value, then he would support it 100%.

Bill H. and his partners simply took a page from Marc Emery's playbook and tried to form a cannabis community center so to speak, it quickly evolved into what you see today upon entering the doors, a great f'n time for mmj users!!

@azvaporlounge@davelog I hope you have some methods in place for sterlizing the bongs,being flu season and all. I wouldn't be suprised if Montgomery and the rest of the neo-cons try to shut you down by claiming some kind of threat to public health. BTW,I voted for and support peoples right to use MMJ,even though I myself don't use it.